Anyone who wants to build, rebuild or make a substantial addition in a city or a planned area must have the building plan sanctioned first - by the municipal corporation in the city and by the development authority in the planned areas - and must then build exactly to the sanctioned plan. The order is: have a licensed architect or engineer draw the plan, submit it with the title and property tax papers and the water and drainage clearances, clear the scrutiny objections, take the commencement certificate before work starts, and finally take the completion certificate and occupancy before the building is used.
Before you start
- The title deed of the plot, the mutation record and the latest property tax receipt.
- A fresh survey or site plan, and the architect's or structural engineer's drawings showing the floors, the setbacks, the height, the parking and the open spaces.
- Proof of the sanctioned water supply and drainage connection, or the application for it.
- The clearances the project attracts: fire safety where the height or use requires it, pollution consent, and any heritage or airport-height clearance if the site falls under one.
- The local building rules that apply to the area, and the document showing who is authorised to submit for the owner.
Steps
- Identify the sanctioning authority. Inside a municipal corporation the sanction comes from the corporation; in a planned or notified development area it comes from the development authority, and sometimes both have a say. Filing with the wrong body is the first and most wasteful delay.
- Engage a licensed architect or engineer. Only a professional registered for the purpose may sign and submit the plan. A plan drawn by an unregistered hand is not scrutinised at all.
- Submit the plan with the papers. The drawings go in with the title, the tax receipt and the water and drainage proof. A shortfall in any of these is a scrutiny defect.
- Clear the scrutiny. The technical cell checks the coverage, the floor area ratio, the setbacks, the height, the light and ventilation, and the parking against the building rules, and issues a scrutiny note of objections.
- Reply or revise. Objections are answered by a revised plan or a written explanation. Most applications move forward only after two or three rounds of this.
- Pay the sanction fee the schedule prescribes and obtain the sanctioned plan. The fee and the charges are those fixed by the authority's schedule and are not open to negotiation at the counter.
- Obtain the commencement certificate before starting work. Digging or building without the commencement certificate makes the work unauthorised even if the plan itself is sanctioned.
- Build to the plan and obtain the completion and occupancy certificate. After the work is finished, the authority inspects and issues the completion certificate; the occupancy certificate is what lets the building lawfully be occupied and connected to services.
Documents to keep
- The sanctioned plan and the approval letter, kept at the site.
- The commencement certificate and, at the end, the completion and occupancy certificates.
- All receipts for the sanctions, charges and any compounding fee.
- The water, drainage, fire and pollution clearances.
- Any revision or amended plan that was later sanctioned.
What goes wrong
Building without sanction, or beyond what was sanctioned, is unauthorised construction. The authority can issue a stop-work notice, require the offending portion to be pulled down, and prosecute under its own Act; regularisation, where the law permits it, is a separate and conditional relief. Common defects that sink a plan: setbacks that eat into the mandatory open space, a floor added above the sanctioned height, parking shown on paper but not on the ground, and a plan signed by an unregistered professional. A buyer who purchases a flat in a building with no occupancy certificate also carries that defect, so if you are buying rather than building, have the sanction and occupancy papers checked - our property registration desk routinely does this along with a title search. Where a notice or a demolition order is passed, the challenge to its legality lies on a writ or civil suit on grounds the courts have laid down, and the limitations period is short, so act at once. See also our notes on property law and the property registration formats.
Common questions
Can I make a small internal change without sanction?
Minor repairs and works that do not alter the structure, the height or the sanctioned use may be exempt, but the test is the building rules of the area, not the cost of the work. If the change touches a load-bearing wall, a floor or the coverage, treat it as needing sanction.
What is the difference between the completion certificate and the occupancy certificate?
The completion certificate records that the building was built according to the sanctioned plan; the occupancy certificate records that it is fit to be occupied. Many authorities issue them together, but they answer different questions and both are wanted for services.
What happens if I built first and applied later?
You are exposed to a stop-work and demolition notice and to a prosecution. A retrospective application or a compounding application is possible only where the law allows it and the construction is otherwise within the rules. Take advice before spending on the papers.
If a sanction, a certificate or a civic application has stalled, FileX Advocates & Legal Consultants, Kolkata, guides the papers through the office and, where needed, the court. Call +91 7439811422 or WhatsApp us for a free first consultation.